Autumn

 Esther was baptized the weekend we found out about Matt's job. What initially seemed like an incredibly rushed and stressful day ended up being a huge blessing. Everything turned out so beautifully and now we understand why it all had to happen that way.


The holiest person in our house.
Squeaky clean soul.

And God Bless Wegmans! Last minute cake turned out to be amazing.



Grandad brings out the best in the Child of Colic.



Practicing for Halloween



Third child to wear the dragon costume from Joseph's godparents.



Tom "prac-sticking" for Halloween too!

 

Our neighbor lets us borrow the leaves from his yard every year, since we have no trees. The children get so excited. I guess I was grateful that I didn't have to rake so much each year, but now it seems really sad that I have to take leaves from someone else's yard.

 

Esther has started babbling recently. She came with Matt and I to Michigan this past weekend and we got an incredible chance to bond with our fifth born. She started really trying to converse with Matt on our trip. It was different, not having one million distractions and four other children talking at the same time. She had our undivided attention, and it was delicious just being able to soak her up.

 

The four olders stayed with our parents and got spoiled out of their minds. Their time included, but was not limited to, 3 sleepovers, making homemade pancakes and pizza and monkey bread and pretzels, movies and popcorn at night, jumping it out on air mattresses, playing Lego Creator, picking out pumpkins, swimming lessons, hot-tubbing, daily Mass and a trip to Friendly's. It was a great time for all of us and we are still going through "re-entry" now, as it was our first time away from the children.

 Ever.

 

Esther is still up about every 1-2 hours at night. She has fussy periods (all day) and does cluster feeding (all day). I thought that maybe she was teething and then remembered that normal children don't get teeth for another 4 months. That's how tired I am. ;)

 

Nathan is huge. He is maturing so quickly. His vocabulary is growing by the day and he now finds that a good place to practice full sentences and arguments is in Church.

 

Thomas is just as sweet as ever, always making us laugh and asking us how we feel. He seems to be out of the trouble-maker stage and has entered the sensitive and wanting to please Mommy phase. I love it!

 

Joseph is working on his eye contact and has focused so hard on his conversational skills that now he just can't stop. He wakes up at 6am talking and falls asleep at 8pm talking. Matt and I are in awe of how far he has come. Having him homeschool with Sarah this year has been a huge blessing.

 

Sarah is too good to me. She is a huge help with the baby and has been so good about running around and getting things for diaper changes and bathtimes and meals. She loves to be busy and hates to be bored. When she is not schooling or drawing, she pretends she is a nurse. We all get checkups multiple times a day...hopefully this will ward off any bugs that venture toward our house this fall.

 

It's busy around here. Most days, I forget to return phone calls and drink water and go to the bathroom and pay bills. These children are so busy and full of life! They keep us young...and honest...and going to Church.

 Its a good life.